Footballer's car is set ablaze in driveway

Police were yesterday examining the burned-out car of Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll.

The England under 21 forward's brand new chrome-plated Range Rover was set ablaze as it stood on the drive of team mate Kevin Nolan's country house.

Carroll, who was recently awarded a new five-year contract, is staying at the house of the Magpies' skipper as part of his bail conditions after being charged with the alleged assault of a teenager.

Nolan's garage door was also daubed with graffiti during the attack last night. Police were called after the men saw Carroll's Range Rover in flames on the drive. Firefighters arrived at the house at about 7pm.

Carroll's Range Rover, which was partially obscured behind parked cars and an ornamental stone garden fountain, looked badly fire damaged. Its bonnet was open and windows smashed.

Nolan's graffiti-damaged garage door was covered with a sheet, beneath which the letters W I could be seen sprayed in black paint.

A Northumbria Police spokesman said: "The fire was extinguished by the fire and rescue service and no one was injured. The garage door of the property was also vandalised. Police are appealing for anyone with information to contact them."

Carroll is living with Nolan after appearing in court accused of assaulting an ex-girlfriend. He was arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning after police were called to a house in Ponteland where an 18-year-old had suffered head injuries.

The Gateshead-born forward appeared before Hexham Magistrates' Court, where he told the bench he was currently living at Jesmond Dene House hotel, in Newcastle.

His case was adjourned until 10 January 2011 with a condition of his bail that he lives with Nolan at Nolan's home.

Carroll made his first-team debut in November 2006 at the age of 17 and his Premier League debut three months later.